Bucovina invests 9m euros and doubles capacity in Vatra Dornei

Codrin Chiru, marketing manager of Rio Bucovina, says that in order to boost its profit rate the company will reposition the Bucovina brand and sell mineral water in smaller bottles.
Rio Bucovina, one of the top five local bottlers of mineral water, targets an almost 40% increase in turnover this year against 2007, to 30 million euros.
Bucovina is poised to launch glass-bottled mineral water, as part of a 9 million-euro investment carried out at the Vatra Dornei facility.
“The company has invested around 9 million euros in the plant in Vatra Dornei, in order to acquire two bottling lines for PET and glass bottles, as well as to increase the storage capacity. At present, the investment is almost complete,” says Codrin Chiru. As a result, the plant has doubled its capacity.
This year, the company continues to count on Bucovina mineral water, which fetches around 80% of sales. Chiru estimates that Rio Bucovina’s turnover could reach 30 million euros in 2008, up almost 40% against last year.
In 2007, sales of Bucovina mineral water advanced by 23.5% in terms of volume against 2006.
Bucovina preserved its growth rate in terms of volume in the first three months of this year, according to data provided by Chiru.
Last autumn, the company started to rebrand and reposition Bucovina mineral water.
“We are trying to reposition ourselves on the mineral water market, in order to attract more premium consumers,” says Chiru. One of the company’s objectives is to increase the sales of water in smaller bottles (0.33 and 0.5 litres), in order to improve profitability.
Chiru estimates Rio Bucovina’s gross profit rate will amount to 15% this year.
Last year, the company’s net profit amounted to 6.4 million RON (1.9 million euros), from 0.7 million RON (0.2 million euros) in 2006, after sales doubled during this period.
Bottled water registers its highest sales on the on-premise sector (i.e. hotels, restaurants, catering).